Recent content by Casual Cook

Hello and happy Thanksgiving, I love pickles of all types. My pickled cucumbers, however, discolor and dull green. Likewise, when I add garlic cloves, they turn blue-green. I use a 60-40% Vinegar to Water ratio as well as canning salt and pickling spices but not fresh dill. Does anybody...

Thanks again. I am looking forward to getting home and having another attempt at the cheese cake.

Many thank yous to everyone It collapsed when it was baking. I am going to try everything: more pressing, extra butter and chilling before pressing. I will keep that in mind as well. For another pastry, I thought my oven was running hot so for the cheese cake, I used the minimum baking time.

Hello, I baking cheese cakes in a spring form pan. The crust on the first attempt partially collpased and was thin, but at least there was crust. :huh: On attempts two and three, the entire crust failed to adhere to the side of the spring form pan and just collapsed on the bottom. :wacko...

Hello, I have never been into fried foods, but I have started to like fried tomatoes. I have tried to fry them several times and the result was a soggy saute. I just have a few questions... -Is there a secret way to dredge them in flour? - How deep should the oil be in relation to the...

Hello, I had some extra free time and decided to bake a series of baking apple pies. Things have been progessing pretty well. I, however, need help in the following area: - What is the best way to fold the crust to make the rim? My folds end up making the rim too thick. Thanks in advance...

Hello, I really enjoy crepes, but am having problems in the following areas: 1.) Thickness: Most of my crepes are more like tortillas. Is there a secret to making them consistantly thin? 2.) Sticking: A friend gave me a heavy traditional crepe pan with out a non stick surface. What is the...

Hello, I got inspired while walking through a local Vietnamese grocery store and bought some frozen snail meat. I sauted them in butter and garlic for about 15 minutes. Though the snails were pretty small, they were very tough. I know that the French use a certain snail species, but they...

Thanks guys. I am going to try to apply your explanations for the next project.

Hello, I have not much before and need a few explanations. The receipe that I am using assumes thta if you are baking it... then you must already know:sad:. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry: What is this mean and what does it do for the food? Fold the egg whites in: Like mix, but...

I have had great experiences with Russell Knives. They are made in the USA and have a huge line of kitchen knives with several different grades. I own the Chinese Chef's cleaver $35.00, and the Japanese style large cutting Knife ($60.00) and small cutting knife ($35.00). The quality of the...

All, Thanks for the suggestions and guidiance. I now know what killed my cream.... everything was room temperature and then I whipped it to death with an electric mixer.

Hello, I hardly ever bake, but I tried a reciepe calling for a whipped cream topping. I followed the instructions carefully and used heavy cream (though I did substitute regular sugar for powdered sugar), and then whipped the cream and started looking for "peaks". :wink: But.... the whipped...

I have had a few Gumbos in small Louisiana towns that had a hard boiled egg in there as well. I think gumbo is like Bouillabaisse, it is whatever you want to put in it. Bouillabaisse was historically the food of the poorer people in Marsialle etc because it was basically a stew of either day...

Thanks for the great suggestions regarding roux cooking time and butter. A cold front jsut moved in and it is definelty gumbo time. :smile: I just remembered another ingredient. A girl from louisiana told me that real roux can only be made in an old cast iron pot. She said that I should...